About Us

The history and establishment of CORE^2

In 2015, Diversity in Graduate Engineering (DGE) was established. It served as a student organization to represent the melting pot of different cultures within the realm of engineering graduate school. The mission of DGE, now CORE^2, is to provide academic and social support for historically under-represented (URM) graduate students in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at Columbia University.

Inspired by Current Events

In 2020, the globe succumbed to the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic. This pandemic swept across communities, cities, states, towns, and provinces amassing over 1 million victims worldwide. Governments, businesses, and universities, including Columbia University, converted to a remote platform; the outside world came to a complete, chilling stop. In addition to a pandemic which spurred a downward sloping economy, the nation’s notorious police brutality issue came to the forefront of many minds after a black male, by the name of George Floyde, became a highly publicized victim of police brutality. This scene reignited the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement, further highlighting just how unguarded marginalized/underrepresented minorities are within all these interconnected systems.

SEAS Takes Action

In order to actuate intentional support for impacted communities around the world, the SEAS Office of Graduate Student Affairs began launching new initiatives to prepare its students to become innovators and global changemakers; to discover equitable treatments/solutions; and to remain ethical citizens in this global economy.

It was at this time that DGE was established; to directly address the imbalances of opportunities that arise due to one's race and ethnicity. In 2021, DGE evolved into CORE^2 and began partnering with the Graduate Student Affairs diversity initiatives, including Graduate Admissions to actively recruit diverse graduate engineers.

Together we provide cultural events, networking opportunities, and academic resources to our members. Our membership consists of URM graduate SEAS students and allies. Through our outreach efforts, we maintain relationships with undergraduate affinity student groups such as NSBE, AISES and SHPE to provide a consistent support group throughout all stages of scholarship at SEAS. At the graduate level we collaborate with the Graduate Society of Women Engineers and the Engineering Graduate Student Council.